An interview with Emma Garner, Design Engineer at Caice
As part of a new series, we will be interviewing members from the Caice team about their job and how they got into their particular role, as well as what they enjoy doing when they’re not working with fan coils and attenuators.
Our first interview is with one of our Design Engineers, Emma Garner, who joined us in June 2019. She decided to expand on her previous experience and join Caice, recommending products to clients that she had previously sought advice on herself, having worked for a building services company. Emma says her favourite part of her new role is “interacting first-hand with people, as well as enjoying learning about noise control”.
For Emma, the opportunity to work with Caice meant she could expand her career within the building industry, and the role has not disappointed so far. As Emma confesses “I’ve learned a lot!”. Compared to her previous company who were, she admits, “A bit stuck in their ways”.
Caice is different; “They’re always trying to improve on how they manufacture and do things”
In her previous role, Emma found herself designing a lot of ventilation systems, admitting; “it was when I was designing the ventilation systems, I found myself going to Caice for advice on noise control and other elements I wasn’t specialised in, so I thought why not broaden my knowledge of these systems and work directly for them, instead of just seeking advice”.
Emma may have found that she is far more accepted and respected in her new position as a design engineer, it hasn’t sadly always been the case. The subject of gender equality and attitudes toward women in the construction is something we explore with Emma in another interview that focuses on Emma’s own experiences as a woman in a largely male-dominated industry.
Her own experience in the construction industry began in solitude as the only woman to join her college course for five years, as she studied to achieve both a Higher National Diploma (HND) and a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Building Services Engineering. Which has highlighted a wide-spread inequality throughout the industry which is still very apparent.
Emma’s passion for engineering began at a young age, having attended engineering specialist high school, Skipton Girls High School, where her enthusiasm and interest with building engineering was actively nurtured and encouraged. From leaving school, Emma then secured an apprenticeship in Yorkshire where she worked for 8 years, whilst studying.
By her own admission, Emma is largely driven by her love of being “hands-on and solving problems”, fondly recalling the moment she knew she wanted to pursue a career in engineering when working on a school project to design and build a flatpack barbeque, for which she won the award!
When she’s not building proposals for clients or advising on the right attenuators for their project, Emma enjoys nothing more than a spot of ballroom and Latin dancing, a past-time she has enjoyed since her childhood. She is also a die-hard Burnley football fan, proudly owning a season ticket for Burnley club and enjoying watching her team play most weekends.
